The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal has resolved that members charged with serious crimes should step aside pending the conclusion of their legal cases, the party's provincial secretary told journalists on Tuesday.  

“[A]ll comrades charged with serious crimes [should] step aside from their positions of responsibility in government, pending the conclusion of their legal cases,” said Mdumiseni Ntuli at the party’s KZN headquarters in Durban.

Ntuli said the decision was guided by the “noble principles” that had steered the ANC over the past century and was adopted at an extra-ordinary meeting of the provincial executive committee (PEC).

The announcement follows the arrest of two ANC mayors in different districts on counts of murder and attempted murder.

On Sunday last week, Harry Gwala District Municipality mayor Mluleki Ndobe was arrested with three co-accused for his alleged involvement in the plot to assassinate former ANCYL secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa.

Magaqa was gunned down in an ambush in 2017 and died from complications two months later. Two colleagues who were with him were injured but survived.

The State provisionally withdrew charges of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit both crimes against Ndobe on Monday, citing lack of evidence. Charges were also provisionally withdrawn against one of the mayor’s co-accused. The two remaining accused were appearing at the uMzimkhulu Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for their official bail applications.

Ntuli said that because the case against Ndobe had been provisionally withdrawn, he had to return to work to “serve” the citizens of his municipality. He would also remain on the party’s list of candidates that would be deployed following the May 8 election.

Newcastle mayor Dr. Ntuthuko Mahlaba was arrested at the municipal offices on Friday in connection with the 2016 murder of ANCYL regional leader Wandile Ngubeni and the attempted murder of ANCYL regional secretary Mafika Mndebele.

Both of the men were shot while with friends at a tavern. Ngubeni died of his injuries while Mndebele was seriously wounded.

On Monday a local court heard that Mahlaba was being charged with murder, attempted murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. He was remanded in custody and will appear for a formal bail application on Monday next week.

Continued Ntuli: “The PEC was very concerned that we have councillors who have been arrested since last week, some of them are ward councillors, which effectively means that they are incapable to discharge their responsibilities [to the public], and our view as the PEC was that you can’t be a public representative who is incapable of representing the public. 

“It effectively means that if we retain the understanding that those comrades will remain as councillors of the ANC, we are actually doing a disservice to affected communities.

“The first thing that we said needs to be done is, we have encouraged the ANC caucuses to ensure in the meantime the PR councillors [are] deployed to serve the communities [that are now without councillors]."

ANC leaders had to be “beyond reproach” politically and socially, he said, and ensure that the perception of the governing party was the same. The PEC meeting grappled with how to strengthen and consolidate the image, stature and reputation of the ANC, he said.

It was “neither here nor there” how the matter had been handled in the past, he said, if “the current leadership believes and is convinced that the best way to get out of the current malaise is to act in this way”.